HISTORY
enda Vietnam is an entity of enda Tiers Monde, an international NGO whose base is in Senegal, Dakar and which has more than twenty entities operating around the world. enda Tiers Monde is very much specialized in working directly with poor communities and different marginalized and disadvantaged groups, helping them develop their self-help and self-management capacity to effectively cope with poverty, environmental degradation and inadequate social and public services.
In Vietnam the entity was founded by Henri de Reboul who used to work for Enda Paris, a delegation office of enda Tiers Monde in Europe. In 1993, Jacques Beaugnicourt, the Secretary Executive of enda Tiers Monde had offered Henri de Reboul an opportunity to on behalf of enda open another entity in Asia, a continent enda Tiers Monde had only earmarked its operation through an entity in Mumbai (India) called enda-siddhi.
At that time Vietnam has recently opened its door toward the world and showed a definite will to change their economic system into a more market based economy (which in turn will influence a radical political change). In the meantime, the incidence of poverty was significant in every single part of the country, as a consequence of the war deprivation, the American embargo as well as a highly centrally-planned economy governed by a rigid top-down approach. On the other hand, thirst of capital investment to develop the country, Vietnamese government seemed to be more open to new ways of working, new ideas and new practices of development.
The specific political and socio-economic context of Vietnam has urged Henri de Reboul to choose Vietnam to expand the geographic scope of enda Tiers Monde in the struggle against poverty and the improvement of living condition and the neighborhood environment of poor communities.
Juridical, since August 1997, enda Vietnam received the permission from PACCOM to officially establish its project office as an entity of enda Tiers Monde in Ho Chi Minh City (under the license No205/UB/GP issued by the Working Committee on Non-Government Organization of PACCOM).
VISION:
A Vietnamese society where people can live together in a peaceful, democratic and equal manner and a Vietnamese society where governments, citizens and social organizations strengthen each other in order to fight poverty and injustice as well as to build healthy environmental conditions.
MISSION:
- In cooperation with local authorities and social associations enda Vietnam work for poor communities and disadvantaged groups on the basic of their needs and priorities for community–based socio-economic and environmental improvement;
- To play an active role in searching for and replicating of more sustainable development at all levels, including diverse operational, training and networking programs making this development possible;
- To integrate gender analysis within community development programs to foster gender equity;
- To provide consulting and training on environmental and community – based development fields to other projects/ organizations.
STRATERGY
Although enda contributes its main efforts to community based activities, it has a special responsibility to reach out its experience to seek an attitude change at different levels and to develop institutional innovations so that Vietnamese themselves have habit to set up, implement and maintain their own sustainable development program.
In addition to its own projects enda provides consulting community development and environment improvement for other projects and organizations.
Exchange of experiences is also important to the method of self-help learning and training. This is done through exchange activities between community groups. By this way enda promotes self-help strategy by creating understanding and solidarity between communities from different cities.
enda believes in solution that come first from the local and national level, then by mutual support among developing countries, especially in Asia.
enda is not a charity organization. enda helps people themselves through learning by doing process.